This follows hardships for the giant when the US placed Huawei on an "entity list" of companies in May. The US thus blocked American firms from trading with the company without special permits. The US views Huawei as a security risk, an accusation the company denies. US president Donald Trump also banned Huawei and other Chinese firms from working on critical 5G mobile network infrastructure, and are lobbying allies including the UK to do the same, with mixed success. Huawei announced its business results for the first half of 2019: CNY401.3 billion in revenue, a 23.2% increase over the same period last year, and a reported a net profit margin for H1 2019 at 8.7%.
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Huawei reports growth of 23% in sales despite US crackdown, BRItv, Mary-Jane Mphahlele
According to Huawei's Chairman, Liang Hua, operations are smooth and the organization is as sound as ever. He said with effective management and an excellent performance across all financial indicators, Huawei's business has remained robust in the first half of 2019. In Huawei's carrier business, H1 sales revenue reached CNY146.5 billion, with steady growth in production and shipment of equipment for wireless networks, optical transmission, data communications, IT, and related product domains.
The giant said it has secured 50 commercial 5G contracts and has shipped more than 150,000 base stations to markets around the world. In Huawei's enterprise business, H1 sales revenue was CNY31.6 billion. Huawei continues to enhance its ICT portfolio across multiple domains, including cloud, artificial intelligence, campus networks, data centers, Internet of Things, and intelligent computing. Huawei remains a trusted supplier for government and utility customers, as well as customers in commercial sectors like finance, transportation, energy, and automobile.
In Huawei's consumer business, H1 sales revenue hit CNY220.8 billion. Huawei's smartphone shipments (including Honor phones) reached 118 million units, up 24% YoY, the company said. The company also saw rapid growth in its shipments of tablets, PCs, and wearables. Huawei is beginning to scale its device ecosystem to deliver a more seamless intelligent experience across all major user scenarios.